Italy moves to force big ships to take back route to Venice

Gondolas and water taxis will never again have to vie with big cruise ships for space in front of Venice's iconic St. Mark's Square, an Italian governmental committee decided on Tuesday. Venetians and environmentalists have long voiced concerns about floating pleasure palaces sailing close to the fragile city, dwarfing its Gothic and Byzantine churches. Under the new rules, which follow a temporary limit imposed three years ago, the largest ships weighing more than 100,000 tonnes or more will take a less glamorous route to the industrial port of Marghera, far from the Grand Canal.